2000
#5,892
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,378
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.99
Rare Last name
Curtiss
Derived from the Old French "curteis," meaning courteous or polite, originally referring to someone well-mannered or refined.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,999 Americans carry the last name Curtiss. That puts it at #6,261 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,135 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Curtiss surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Curtiss with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.0K
1 in 57,135
Census rank
#6,261
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,231 bearers of the surname Curtiss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6261st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Curtiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Curtiss
The surname CURTISS originated in England and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "curteis" which means courteous or well-mannered. The name is thought to have initially referred to a person with refined or polite manners.
Early variations of the spelling included Curteys, Curtays, and Curteis. The name is believed to have first appeared in records in Norfolk, England around 1182. One of the earliest recorded instances was Richard le Curteys who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1195.
The Hundred Rolls of 1273 contained several entries for people with this surname concentrated in areas like Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Bedfordshire. This suggests the name had spread throughout central and southern England by the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in the famous Domesday Book of 1381 which listed poll tax payers. Examples from this record include William Curteys from Yorkshire and John Curtays from Suffolk. By this time, the spelling had become more standardized to the modern CURTISS form.
Notable people throughout history with this last name include:
- Sir William Curtiss (1475-1559), an English member of parliament during the reign of Henry VIII.
- John Curtiss (1572-1640), an English Puritan settler who arrived in Massachusetts in 1638.
- Sarah Curtiss (1713-1794), one of the earliest female poets and writers in colonial America.
- William Curtiss (1807-1881), an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York.
- Glenn Curtiss (1878-1930), a pioneering American aviator and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane Company.
Many English place names were derived from this surname as well, such as Curtismill Green in Oxfordshire and Curtisknowle in Derbyshire. These likely originated as the lands or properties owned by families with the CURTISS name during the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Curtiss
Among Census respondents with the surname Curtiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Curtiss bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Curtiss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 4,583
- Black or African American3.9% · 203
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 195
- Two or more races3.7% · 195
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Curtiss
Curtiss appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,500
+122 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Down 325 places
2020
#6,261
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,231
-269 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.75
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,892 | 5,378 | 1.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,217 | 5,500 | 1.86 | +122 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 325 places |
| 2020 | #6,261 | 5,231 | 1.75 | -269 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 44 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Curtiss surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,217 | #6,261 | -0.7% |
| Count | 5,500 | 5,231 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.86 | 1.75 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Curtiss bearers went from 5,500 to 5,231 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,217 to #6,261.
FAQ
Curtiss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Curtiss?
Name Census estimates that about 5,999 living Americans carry the surname Curtiss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,135 residents.
How common is Curtiss?
Curtiss ranks #6,261 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,231 people with the surname Curtiss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,999), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Curtiss.
Has Curtiss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Curtiss went from 5,500 recorded bearers to 5,231. That is a decrease of 269 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,217 to #6,261.
What does the Census say about the background of Curtiss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Curtiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Curtiss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (4,583 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Curtiss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Black (3.9%), Hispanic (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Curtiss (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Curtiss mean?
Derived from the Old French "curteis," meaning courteous or polite, originally referring to someone well-mannered or refined. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Curtiss (1.75 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Curtiss?
If you just want to know how many people are called Curtiss, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.